A braking architecture for the wheel of an aircraft is known that comprises a brake provided with at least one hydraulic actuator for braking the wheel, a source of pressure suitable for delivering a hydraulic fluid at high pressure, a hydraulic braking circuit for normal braking, and a hydraulic circuit for parking.
The parking hydraulic circuit conventionally comprises a parking valve having an outlet port adapted to be selectively connected either to the source of pressure, or to a return circuit at low pressure relative to said high pressure.
The parking valve is conventionally operated by a linear electromagnet including a rod sliding between an extended position and a retracted position. The position of the rod is generally monitored by means of a pressure sensor that measures the pressure in the parking hydraulic circuit. The pressure sensor is bulky, heavy, and expensive. It has been envisaged to monitor the position of the rod by incorporating a position sensor directly on the rod. However, the presence of hydraulic fluid in the environment of the rod prevents such incorporation. In addition, the short stroke of the rod would probably not allow the position of the rod to be detected accurately in the most unfavorable configurations (thermal drift, dimensional chains, expansion, etc.).